Action to be taken against school if bullying cases go unreported

The Education Ministry will take stern action against school management found to have concealed any misconduct, including bullying in schools, said its director- general Datuk Seri Dr Khir Mohamad Yusof.

He said principals and headmasters must report immediately to the authorities any forms of misconduct, including student bullying cases in their respective schools.

"The act of reporting such cases will not affect of the school but it is necessary to allow appropriate action to be taken against the parties concerned," he said.

Khir told reporters this when asked on action being taken by the ministry on a group of female students involved in the bullying of a female student in a secondary school in Kunak, Sabah recently.

"Disciplinary action in accordance to the prescribed procedure will be taken on the school management if they failed to report any such cases in their schools to the authorities," he said.

Khir said in view of the case that happened in a secondary school in Sabah was now a police case, the ministry was leaving it to the police to conduct investigation.

On the part of the ministry, he said, if investigation revealed it was a bullying case, then action would be taken based on the existing standard operating procedures (SOP) while the students involved in the bullying case would be sent to the Henry Gurney school, among others.

Earlier Khir inspected the school block of Sekolah Kebangsaan Haji Bujang Rangawan Putin here, which is being built using the Industrialised Building System (IBS) technology under the rural school upgrading project.

The school is among 30 schools in Sarawak that are upgraded this year using the IBS technology that enable these schools to be completed within a short time and are more durable at a cheaper cost.

--BERNAMA